Add SSD performance to an existing hard drive at an economical price with the new Mushkin Catalyst Cache SSD. This simple upgrade combines the capacity of an existing hard drive with the speed of a Solid State Drive. The addition of a Mushkin Catalyst Cache SSD will accelerate boot times, application launches, and general system performance

Dataplex Cache software makes the innovative combination of a hard drive and an SSD possible. Frequently accessed data and applications are cached to the SSD automatically. Less frequently used data stays on the hard drive. Further boosting performance - Mushkin's caching policy includes both reads and writes. Supercharged performance is the result.

The Mushkin Catalyst Cache SSD is available in 50 GB and 100 GB capacities and works with any SATA interface. A SATA 6 Gb/s system can yield up to 550 MB/s read/ 515 MB/s write - blazing speed at a fraction of the cost of a traditional SSD.

"The Catalyst Cache SSD really is the best of both worlds. Users will experience amazing speed while maintaining large amounts of data on their computer. The best part, it's an upgrade that wont break the bank." - Brian Flood, Mushkin director of product development.

The Mushkin Catalyst SSD is available now from authorized Mushkin resellers and distributors.

16 Comments on Mushkin Announces the Catalyst Cache SSD The Best of Both Worlds - Speed and Capacity

I may be confused.. This handles the cache only?
Ahh I get it.. It's the cache.
Sounds like a great idea. Boost performance for the cached things you use most..
What's the pricing like and where can I find one? lol..

I am definitely intrigued. This may be exactly the thing to bring me into the SSD market.
Nice job Mushkin, never cease to come up with great stuff.

Any ideas on how to install this thing?
I'm looking at one right now and considering it.

How robust is this device combo+software drivers over power failure, or indeed, a driver crash or bluescreen? If my PC dies, can I swap the HDD to another PC and have 100%? Or will some of my data be in the cache drive also? Is it therefore robust over a system swap?

by: Completely BonkersHow robust is this device combo+software drivers over power failure, or indeed, a driver crash or bluescreen? If my PC dies, can I swap the HDD to another PC and have 100%? Or will some of my data be in the cache drive also? Is it therefore robust over a system swap?

I've used OCZ's Synapse Cache, which is basically the same thing (SF2 + Dataplex). Dataplex is one of the worst pieces of software that i ever had to use. On a bluescreen/unintended reboot, their bootloader kicks in before the Windows one and takes ~15 minutes to re-sync SSD and HDD, in the end you might lose some recent data. If you have a dual-boot system, that calls for trouble, since then there is another bootloader in that chain.
Yes, the HDD will remain readable if the SSD dies. But it's very likely that you'll have an enormous amount of lost data.
But what really killed it for me was that Dataplex managed to wipe the HDD's partition table :twitch:. On some regular reboot, Windows' bootloader (MBR) was complaining about some missing files and refused to boot. No, it didn't erase any data on the actual partitions, but it still cost me a whole day trying to a) figure out what was wrong and b) recovering everything.

So in the end, it cost me more time than it actually saved. It did give a nice boost to my HDD, but it's absolutely not worth the trouble. I know i'm not alone with the wiping issue, since there are many similar complains in the ratings on Amazon(.de).

Right now i'm using Intel's SRT (uEFI-level), which seems to work much more reliably and does so with any SSD.:respect:

Ug the reliablilty of these things seems horrible. I want to go SSD so bad, but having hardware that only has a 3-5 year warranty means they know their shit is going to break.. They need to get more reliable before I even consider it.

by: D007Ug the reliablilty of these things seems horrible. I want to go SSD so bad, but having hardware that only has a 3-5 year warranty means they know their shit is going to break.. They need to get more reliable before I even consider it.

Depends on the specific one; Intel has some that are super-reliable and some that have some problems. OCZ has had horrible quality issues with their Sandforce-based SSDs; Crucial makes decent SSDs but had to fix a couple bugs with firmware updates. Samsung is known for making some of the most reliable SSDs even though they are deviating a lot from mainstream technology.

So really, it depends. There are some nearly indestructible ones (Samsung 470/830...) and some that are guaranteed to fail after two weeks (OCZ Petrol).

by: imitationDepends on the specific one; Intel has some that are super-reliable and some that have some problems. OCZ has had horrible quality issues with their Sandforce-based SSDs; Crucial makes decent SSDs but had to fix a couple bugs with firmware updates. Samsung is known for making some of the most reliable SSDs even though they are deviating a lot from mainstream technology.

So really, it depends. There are some nearly indestructible ones (Samsung 470/830...) and some that are guaranteed to fail after two weeks (OCZ Petrol).

Mushkin Announces the Catalyst Cache SSD The Best of Both Worlds - Speed and Capacit

Keep in mind that the standard SSDs like the Samsung 470/830 are designed solely for normal use applications of storage and OS etc. It is specifically stated in the use manual that the drive is not designed for caching!!! I own the Samsung 830 256 GB version!

If you want to cache with SSD you have to purchase a model specifically designed for caching otherwise extreme wear on the flash will occur causing premature death.

Of the four brands that I am aware of that are offering cache models, OCZ, Mushkin, Crucial and Corsair it appears that the Synapse Cache SSD OCZ Technology apparently buffers the wear factor the most by offering 50% overprovisioning therefore if you get a 64 GB SSD Cache drive it actually will have a cache of only 32 GB.

Other manufacturers use smaller overprovisioning but may also suffer faster wear repercussions. I have noticed forum user comments elsewhere stating that the normal turn over on SSD cache drives in heavy use is about six months.

If anyone has information on software or design enabling caching of a normal SSD please let us know! The largest cache drives I am aware of right now are 128 GB.

I am looking for software similar to what is used on the cache SSDs to cache my SD chip. I have a 32GB SD chip running through the USB 2 internal Hub and I am trying to see if I can improve my paging caching etc with this type of Flash memory! I am currently using it primarily for Readyboost. I figure a direct caching similar to the SSDs would be more effective.

If not, I am looking for a way to move or redirect my paging file and Superfetch files etc, (where ever Superfetch is located, I am not sure), to the SD for a speed up. I have not seen anything surfing the Internet that works for Windows 7.

What files are usually the most valuable to move to flash for improved benefits in addition to those noted above?

Also, anyone know if one can use these cache SSD's via USB? Is there cache software that will enable or work with that scenario??? I get the impression that Dataplex Cache software only works directly via the SATA interface. I surmise that "Intel's SRT (uEFI-level), which seems to work much more reliably and does so with any SSD" will also only work with a direct SATA interface.

Is there a SATA daisy chain like device or "Y" connector, perhaps with appropriate software to facilitate it if necessary, that I can install into my laptop so that I can use the SSD cache with SATA where the SATA interface otherwise is limited to one fixture in the laptop?